Adapting the wetting front detector to small-scale furrow irrigation and providing a basis for the interpretation of salt and nutrient measurements from the water sample

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The Wetting Front Detector (WFD) was originally developed as a simple irrigation scheduling tool to fill a perceived gap in the market. This ‘gap’ was perceived to be for a tool that made ‘intuitive’ sense to farmers and linked water management with salt and nutrient management The FullStop WFD is a funnel shaped device that is buried in the soil and provides a visual signal when the soil water suction falls to 2 kPa during an irrigation event. The FullStop collects a water sample from the wetting front, which can be analyzed for water quality parameters, such as electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrate levels (see www.fullstop.com.au).